I caught my breath just a little as I pulled out of my mailbox an envelope with a Portland Bureau of Transportation return address. Opening the letter, I was chagrined to find a citation for speeding. Over my many years of driving, I have … Read more
Search Results for: "Romans 6:"
The Best Thing Ever
One Christmas, my brother and I received a new game: Monopoly®. We played that game with our best friend, Michael, for many, many years thereafter. It was a game which I found uninteresting and a real bore. In fact, I still do. Back … Read more
Lying To Myself
I was telling myself a big one — lying to myself — and the trouble was that I believed it. My lie began about the time I turned fourteen. It went something like this: "You don't need school." If I didn't need school, I didn't need to … Read more
The Unappreciated Christmas Gift
One Christmas in my youth, I received an artist's easel, a pad of large newsprint paper the exact size needed for the easel, and water colours, complete with brushes. This gift was likely expensive and would have given me hours of … Read more
Be On The Lookout
Do you ever wonder how many spiritually lost people you pass each day? It was December 2018. I needed to run to the store to finish Christmas shopping. I felt a strong urge to grab a tract and a coupon that I had just received in the … Read more
Cutting Down Trees
Recently, my husband and a friend were outside cutting down trees on our property. The area where we live is surrounded by many maple trees and silver birches. Unfortunately, many of the birch trees are dead and need to be taken down. They … Read more
Titanic Pride And The Cross
Today marks 105 years since the sinking of the Titanic. On April 14th, 1912, this "unsinkable" ship met its fate in the Atlantic Ocean. Then 100 years later, on January 13, 2012, the cruise ship, Costa Concordia, met its fate in the … Read more
Out Of The Mouth Of Babes
Last summer, my daughter, her husband and their young family travelled through Washington State, USA, on their way to Yellowstone Park. They stopped in a little Bavarian-themed town called Leavenworth, to look around. One of the stores … Read more
I Stole Watermelons Only Once
The young person sat before me and said, "I stole watermelons only once." I don't recall even nodding before the rest of the story came out: A group of us young people went in a car to large fields known for their watermelon patches. … Read more
What Is Our Truth?
Recently, I attended a tent revival meeting, and the evangelist made a statement that really surprised me. To paraphrase, he said that he doesn't concern himself about the contentious issues between the church and the world. The Bible is … Read more
Attitude Adjustment
I have an interesting application on my cell phone that tracks my driving habits. It's for my insurance company, which sold me on it by saying that it could save me "up to 25 percent" on my vehicle insurance, which would be really neat! As … Read more
How to Live? How to Die?
There is really only one answer: I do palliative care at our local nursing home. I sit with dying patients, both those who are peaceful and those who are frightened. I offer to pray with each of them. If they answer "yes", I pray aloud … Read more
How to Live? How to Die?
There is really only one answer: I do palliative care at our local nursing home. I sit with dying patients, both those who are peaceful and those who are frightened. I offer to pray with each of them. If they answer "yes", I pray aloud … Read more
The Relief
The other day when I was tramping through the brush to untangle one of the horses' stake lines, I found myself heaving such a sigh of pleasure and relief. Why? Because we don't have any type of snake in the far north. It's just too cold … Read more
The Relief
The other day when I was tramping through the brush to untangle one of the horses' stake lines, I found myself heaving such a sigh of pleasure and relief. Why? Because we don't have any type of snake in the far north. It's just too cold … Read more
Enjoy Life
Recently, I participated in a wonderful funeral service. That may sound weird, but it turned out to be a joyous celebration of a life lived well. The person concerned was a very gentle, humble, kind man, who touched the hearts and lives … Read more
The Dead Tree
There is a huge, dead tree leaning precariously beside the path where I walk each day. The tree has been dead for a very long time. Its trunk is naked and bleached by the elements, and its branches, stripped of all foliage, creak and … Read more
The Happy Ending
Ah, it's Christmas movie time once again, and how I love the collection we have compiled over the years: comedies, dramas, and musicals — so many, in fact, that we can watch a different one almost every evening during the Advent season. … Read more
The Greatest Love Ever
With race riots, government oppression, radicalized terrorists, horrific new diseases, and financial meltdowns, today's world is in as much darkness as it was 2000 years ago, and as it was before that, when people were hoping for a … Read more
The Biohazard
At work, there is a white pail with a large red and black label which reads, BIOHAZARD. Sharps, gloves, clothes, and other items which have come into contact with contaminated or infectious people or things must be placed in this pail … Read more
The Italian Market
When I was a young boy, my grandfather often took me to Ninth Street in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, popularly known as The Italian Market. Vendors would openly sell meat, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables, and especially … Read more
Real Freedom
The Fourth of July is celebrated in the United States to commemorate the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. On July 4th, flags of red, white, and blue known as "Old Glory" or "the … Read more
The Ayes Have It
Eye surgery. It seems like every time we turn around, someone is having it: eye surgery for their cataracts. I surgery. It seems like every time we turn around, someone ought to get it: I surgery for their selfish attitude. With eye … Read more
Temptations And Choices
Soft music was playing in the background as I was writing in my journal. It had been a while since my last entry. Again, my writing had been put on the back burner, and I found myself wanting to get back into writing and meditation again. … Read more
Christianity For Dummies
There are a lot of For Dummies books available. We have a few of them around our house: – Guitar for Dummies – Digital Photography for Dummies – Scrapbooking for Dummies – GPS for Dummies – PCs for Dummies I must say that … Read more
Among My Treasures
Among my treasures I have a letter.
The letter is from a lady who was the young wife of a student minister. I was a very young teacher when I received it, and had been home for a weekend or two when the young couple was ministering in … Read more
The Kissed Hand
I was invited to join a family for a birthday supper. When we were all seated, a little toddler in his highchair stretched out his chubby arm to the centre of the table and stuck his fingers into the frothy … Read more
Free Indeed!
"We're emancipated; we're liberated; we're in control, don't worry." These confident utterances are arising from young adolescent girls trying to console worried adults, according to a Maclean's magazine article, "Outraged Moms, Trashy Daughters" (August 16, 2010). The article expresses a … Read more
The Power Of God's Lavish Grace
"We are most truly human, most fully ourselves, most profoundly free when we live in response to God's grace." – Migliore One day while visiting a school, I noticed an unhappy grade six boy sitting outside the French classroom. This … Read more
Sin's Senselessness
At fifty years of age, there are many things I still don't understand any more than I did when I was younger. For example, a tornado rips through a heavily populated area, killing innocent people and instantly destroying possessions that … Read more
What Controls You?
Controlling and controlled — both have the same root word, but entirely different results. Type A personalities are usually the first and Type B the latter. I've known both in my lifetime, and I'm not sure which I would rather … Read more